This invention relates generally to solid laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents and cleaning compositions and more particularly to new surfactant granules distinguished by an improved dissolving rate, to a process for their production and to their use.
Nowadays, surfactants are preferably used in granular, substantially water-free form for the production of solid laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents and cleaning compositions. Various processes have proved to be suitable for the production of granular, substantially water-free surfactants. However, one feature common to commercially available surfactant granules is that they have an inadequate dissolving rate, particularly in cold water. For this reason, detergent tablets based on anionic or nonionic surfactants cannot be directly placed in the dispensing compartment of washing machines, but instead have to be directly added to the wash liquor despite the use of considerable quantities of disintegrators.
Accordingly, the problem addressed by the present invention was to provide surfactant granules which, on contact with cold water, would disintegrate particularly quickly without forming a gel phase so that the disadvantages of the prior art would be reliably overcome.